The Reflection of the Moon
by Macarons and Muffins
Summary: 'It was only a matter of time, and not much of it, before I showed up at your window and begged you to take me back.' Edward returns prematurely in New Moon, altering the chain of events that follows.


**I don't own Twilight. And I am sorry if anyone has done this before.**

**Also, I am using some of the original phrases from New Moon to try and keep it the same writing style at the book, but no copyright infringement is intended. The chunks taken straight from New Moon are in italics.**

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_It was only a matter of time- and not much of it- before I showed up at your window and begged you to take me back_. -Edward, _New Moon_

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_Storm-cooled air blew through the cab of the truck._

_"OH!" The breath whooshed out of Jacob like someone had punched him in the gut. "Holy crap!"_

_He slammed the door and twisted the keys in the ignition at the same moment. His hands were shaking so hard I didn't know how he managed it._

_"What's wrong?"_

_He revved the engine too fast; it sputtered and faltered._

_"Vampire," he spit out._

_The blood rushed from my head and left me dizzy. "How do you know?" _

"Because I can smell it. Dammit!"

Jacob's eyes were wild, raking the dark street. He barely seemed aware of the tremors that were rolling through his body. "Phase or get her out of here?" he hissed at himself.

_He looked down at me for a split second, taking in my horror-struck eyes and white face, and then he was scanning the street again. "Right. Get you out."_

_The engine caught with a roar. The tires squealed as he spun the truck around, turning toward our only escape. The headlights washed across the pavement, lit the front line of the black forest, and finally glinted off a car parked across the street from my house._

_"Stop!" I gasped._

My heart was thudding in my chest. The hole inside, the one I had tried so meticulously to keep filled, tore open once more, blinding me with pain.

It was a car that I knew. A silver car. The breath left my body in a swift gasp, and without thinking I reached out and clutched at Jacob's hand, hoping his warmth would help ease the pain. Jacob stared at me, eyes wide, waiting for me to explain. For a moment I had forgotten I'd even spoken.

"Bells?" He didn't shy away from my touch, but instead pulled me closer to him. It barely helped. I was still shaking from the shock of seeing that car. I blinked at it, rubbing my eyes and half expecting it to disappear. It didn't. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"It's not Victoria." I managed to choke out, surprised I was even capable of speech. Jacob was still gunning the car down the street, and some part of me, as confused and shaken up as I was, knew I had to stop him.

"Stop!" I intended to yell, but my voice came out as a thin, reedy wail. It was enough for Jacob, who slammed his foot down on the brake. The truck screeched to a halt.

"What?"

"It's not Victoria," I repeated hoarsely. "It's... one of the Cullens' cars."

Jacob wasn't fooled. He picked up on my hesitation, and turned to me, black eyes imploring.

"Which one of the leeches?" He was gripping the steering wheel so tight that I was surprised it didn't snap. My mouth was suddenly dry, and I didn't know how to respond to Jacob's query. I tried not to even _think_ of the name, let alone speak it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, staring up at Jacob. The pain in my eyes must have been a giveaway; his face hardened, the bitter expression I hoped he would never wear again returning. Then he stomped down on the accelerator with a vindictive kind of fury, and the truck began speeding away from my house, quickly than I thought possible for my battered vehicle.

"Jake!" I yelled, over the rattle of the engine. "Jacob! STOP!"

"Why?" Jacob growled, his body shaking- evidently he was trying his hardest not to explode into a wolf. "Bella, I can't take you back. It would go against everything I've ever thought. Either it's a trick, and that red headed leech is waiting for you, or..." A violent tremor rocked his frame as he contemplated the other possibility. "Either way you're going to get hurt."

"It's not a trick." I deliberately ignored the comment about getting hurt, knowing all too well what the sight of _his_ eyes, cold and indifferent like they were the last time we spoke, would do to me.

"Maybe that's worse," Jacob spat, before cursing as the truck began to stutter, unused to being driven at such a ferocious speed. Deep down, a part of me agreed with him, but I shook my head stubbornly. If he was there, then I wanted to see him, at least for a second, before he left again. I needed it.

"Take me back, Jake," I pleaded. He clenched the steering wheel again, body shuddering. A small crack appeared on the wheel this time.

"No." His face was flat and emotionless, but a spasm of pain crossed his eyes. Suddenly, he looked ten years older than me.

"Please, Jake, I have to-"

"Take yourself back." His voice was brusque and harsh; the edge to his words stung, and to my shock tears welled in my eyes. "I can't go near a filthy bloodsucker. If they're back then it's their territory."

A selfish part of me felt relieved to hear this, but it was overshadowed with my concern for Jacob. I reached out to touch his tense arm, half expecting him to flinch away.

"I have to tell Sam straight away." He said coldly after a moment. "If they're back, then this changes things." The way he said _they're_ was laced with loathing and disdain. Slowly, the truck wheezed to a stop at the side of the road, and Jacob turned to look at me wth a sudden movement that made me shrink back.

"Are you going to come back to the reservation, or stay and face your chances with a bloodsucker?"

His voice was neutral, indifferent, reminding me painfully of another situation a few months ago. I wanted badly to hug him, to feel his warmth, but I knew that now would not be the time.

"Jake, I-" I had barely begun to speak, but Jacob saw in my face the choice I had made.

"You choose him. Of course." His voice was so bitter it was unrecognisable. He hopped out the cab, before I had a chance to contradict him. His shape was shaking so much he was blurring; it was only a matter of time before he phased. I was amazed he had managed to stay human for so long.

"Bye, Bella. See you around." He let out a harsh, very Un-Jacob-like laugh. "Or maybe not."

I opened my mouth to call him back, but the words were caught in my throat. Before I could say anything, he was gone.

Guilt washed over me, so hard that a single sob burst through my lips. How could I do that to Jacob? Jacob, my best friend, the one who had stitched me back together. I promised myself I would call him as soon as I could, to try and make things right again.

If that was possible.

Somehow, I managed to turn the truck around, despite my hands which were shaking as badly as Jacob's, if not worse.

When the headlights clicked off, I realise just how dark it was, a shiver ran down my spine. The house looked oddly menacing in the dark, shadowed and oppressive. What if it _was_ a trick? My mind turned to Victoria, and my heart began thudding twice its regular speed in my chest. But something, some unknown force, pushed me forward, and I stumbled up the stairs towards the door. As I grabbed the doorknob I felt something was off, and a pang of horror struck me when I realised what it was.

The door was unlocked.

I was frozen to the spot, barely able to breathe, as I pushed open the door. I didn't know what to expect- Victoria, perhaps, jumping out from the shadows menacingly? Or even him, standing in all his glory, looking down disdainfully at me?

Instead, I was greeted with a black, silent trembling, I reached out and fumbled for the light switch, squeezing my eyes closed and waiting for someone, some_thing_ to touch me.

The light clicked on. I opened my eyes.

There was no one there.

I knew that a vampire could move from one hiding spot to another so stealthily that I would not notice it, but I still searched every room of the house, calling out weakly. No one showed themselves, and I didn't know if this was a good thing or not. Surely, I reasoned, if it was Victoria then she would appear and carry out her brutal attack on me now, while I was alone and undefenseless.

Maybe whoever it was had left as soon as they heard me coming. Maybe they had come to see me- only to remember how pathetic and inferior I was. My heart constricted in my chest, and I rushed to the window. The silver Volvo was still there.

* * *

I waited tensely, jumping at every sound I heard. I was too preoccupied to fix dinner; Charlie would have to make do with leftovers from Thursday's casserole. I ate mine quickly, burning my tongue and throat and not caring. I was waiting- waiting for some sign that he was out there.

Charlie was late, and my stomach twisted with worry as I began considering what could have happened to him- what if on his way home, Victoria had intercepted him as a way to torture me? What if he'd come across Jacob, who had phased and accidentally attacked him as Sam had Emily?

I was so tense that when the phone rang, I screamed and leapt up. It took a few moments to calm my racing heart, and slowly I picked up the receiver.

"Charlie?" I asked tentatively.

"Bella." A rush of relief whooshed through me- it was Jacob.

"Jake!" I nearly laughed, hysterical. "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier-"

"Is a Leech there with you?" He growled. I could almost hear him grinding his teeth together.

"No. No one-"

"Sam saw the redhead cross the Canadian border a few minutes ago." He said bluntly, voice devoid of any emotion. "So I guess it is one of your little bloodsucking Cullens there. Lucky you."

I felt a strange urge to cry, wishing that Jacob was there with me- the warm, comforting Jake I knew, not this cold and sour one.

"Look, Jake-"

"Bye, Bella."

He hung up with a click, before I could explain how none of the Cullens had turned up, and beg him to come round. Desperately, I punched in his number, but the phone had barely begun to ring when another irritating click silenced it; evidently, he had picked up the receiver only to hang up straight away. I didn't bother phoning again; I would try later, when he was in a better mood.

After an hour that seemed like an eternity, I slipped up to my room. My fears were slightly at ease now that the pack had chased Victoria away for the time being, but just as a precaution I flicked on every light on my way upstairs. She could all too easily come back.

It was too early to go to sleep, but I suddenly felt exhausted despite crashing on Jacob's couch for the better part of the day. I flopped down on my bed, staring across at the window, remembering when I used to leave it open each night and feeling sick at the thought. For just a second, I hoped feebly that _he_ would arrive through my window once more, but I pushed that notion out my head. If he was here, then he was here purely for his own business. I didn't know why the Volvo was parked near my house, but it was probably there for a good reason- a good reason that did _not_ involve me.

I had started to drift off to sleep when I felt something, a cold pressure traipsing across my forehead. Without opening my eyes, I froze; I knew what that felt like- it was the touch of a vampire.

"Bella." A honeyed voice whispered, so beautiful it made my heart nearly stop.

I was dreaming. It was the only explanation for this. I would wake up and be alone- hell, maybe I would wake up and still be on Jacob's couch.

"Bella, open your eyes."

I couldn't. I didn't dare open them, for fear of what I would see when I did; I knew that if I opened my eyes, I would wake up and reality would hit me and I would find myself alone. A cold hand ran across my hair.

"Please."

I had to do what the voice said. It was so persuasive, so soft, it sent a shiver of longing down my spine. But my pleasure from the voice was tinged with sadness- sadness because this moment couldn't be real, or if it was then it would be ruined when I opened my eyes to see his cold, uncaring face staring down at me.

But... He had asked me to. And this was only a dream, after all, I reminded myself. What was the harm if it was only a dream? I knew that tomorrow, when I wake up, I would be in even more pain than before, but somehow it seemed worth it.

I opened my eyes. And gasped.

A pair of eyes stared down at me, painfully familiar. Though they were charcoal black, I could see into their depths- they were not frozen solid as I had expected, but molten once more, deep and soulful.

"Bella." He murmured, too beautiful to be real. My hallucinations had not done him justice. I breathed in his exquisite scent, sighing slightly; this was too good to be real, and it would only cause me heartache when I woke up, or when he left again. One or the other seemed inevitable.

"Bella, we need to talk."

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**I may write more of this, depending on if anyone actually reads it haha. It's going to be a sort of alternative ending to new moon, and what would have happened if Edward came back.**


End file.
